Director Houda Benyamina, who earned a Golden Globe nomination for “Divines,” is developing “For Assia,” an epic drama charting the romance between an Algerian revolutionary and an American reporter, set against the backdrop of Algeria’s struggle for independence.

Benyamina said the lead character in “For Assia” is inspired by various female revolutionaries, notably Djamila Bouhired, a leading light of the Algerian war who was nearly sentenced to death, and her fellow independence-fighter Zohra Drif.

The film reunites Benyamina with “Divines” producer Marc-Benoît Créancier at Easy Tiger. The film centers on the unbreakable bond between an imprisoned Algerian revolutionary and an American journalist whose work proves decisive in rallying support in France and abroad for getting her off death row. The story takes place over 30 years.

Benyamina, who was recently signed by WME, is looking to cast an up-and-coming American actor for the male role. “For this film, I see an actor who has the depth of Michael Fassbender and the fantasy of Tom Cruise in ‘Magnolia.'” She said she is also willing to look at talented but unknown actresses for the lead female role.

“These Algerian women revolutionaries came from all backgrounds. For Algerian youths, they were as powerful and inspirational icons as Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and Malcolm X,” said Benyamina, who added that the underlying purpose of the film was also to shed light on the crucial role played by women during the war.

Benyamina also pointed out the two-hander will explore the complexity of romance during war time. “The love story between this journalist and revolutionary is inevitably tinted by conflicts of interest and power struggle,” said the director.

The shooting of “For Assia” will start during the first quarter of 2018.

“Divines,” a contemporary drama that premiered at Cannes’ Directors Fortnight last year, will compete for seven Cesar awards, including best film, script, first film and actress.

Sign Up for Daily Insider Newsletter

Laura Linney, Hannah Gross, and Terry Chen have joined the cast of Viggo Mortensen’s family drama “Falling.” The movie will be Mortensen’s directorial debut. He’s also producing, wrote the screenplay, and is playing one of the two leading roles in a story about a son’s relationship with his aging father. Production is currently underway in Toronto. [...]

Romantic comedy “Plus One,” starring Maya Erskine and Jack Quaid, has sold to RLJE Films in a pre-emptive deal for low seven figures ahead of its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. “Plus One” is written and directed by Jeff Chan (“Adam Ruins Everything”) and Andrew Rhymer (Pregame). The film also stars Ed Begley, [...]

Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn and President Alan Bergman are asking Fox staffers to be patient while the company begins the complicate work of integrating the two motion picture teams. Both men were on Fox’s Century City lot for meetings with executives. In a memo, Bergman and Horn said they would try to be [...]

The Doha Film Institute’s unique Qumra workshop wrapped its fifth edition on Wednesday following six days of masterclasses, labs and mentoring sessions that bolstered the DFI’s status as the prime entity fostering Arab filmmaking and connecting directors from most of the region with the rest of the world. Programmers from Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Berlin and [...]

The Tribeca Film Institute has announced the 14 films to be honored with grants at the 16th annual Tribeca All Access program, which amplifies stories from underrepresented voices. Seven films and seven documentaries will earn grants from the program to aid their productions, many of them having not received previous funding. The filmmakers will attend [...]

The domestic box office rebounded in 2018 in a recovery fueled by blockbusters such as “Black Panther” and “Incredibles 2.” Ticket sales in the U.S. climbed 7% to top out at a record $11.9 billion, according to a new report by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). That helped off-set declines in overseas markets [...]

Netflix’s ability to profit from its secret sauce of granular consumer data has made it the envy of Hollywood. Now, with Disney, Warner Media and others prepping their own ambitious services to challenge the streaming insurgents, entertainment marketers will face more competitive pressures than ever. But at the same time, new marketing tools are emerging [...]